Quoins are the cornerstones of brick, stone walls or stucco buildings. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building. Rough-finished or rusticated masonry is also frequently used for foundation layers of buildings to give the same impression. Quoining can be carried out in stone on a stone building, with stone on a predominantly brick building, or by laying brick masonry to give the appearance of blocks at the corner. If structural, quoins are usually part of load-bearing walls; if decorative, they may be made of a variety of materials including brick, stone, concrete and wood. The most common form of decorative use for a quoin is the use of an alternative pattern of rectangles that wrap around the wall, mimicking the pattern of stone blocks or brick as they would wrap around a corner and thus join the two walls. In Georgian architecture, wooden quoins were most often part of an overall theme to imply stone, and thus permanence.
Historically these architectural quoins were just seen on the finest homes and buildings of the time. Quoins typically involved masonry skills during the time of the home's/building's construction. For these reasons, adding quoins to one's property to enhance its curb appeal has not been within reach of the typical do-it-yourselfer. Accordingly, there is a need for pre-fabricated quoins that are easily installed. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.